“True energy independence starts at home and we are
encouraged by the President’s commitment to moving our nation beyond its
dangerous addiction to oil.

“As the President said, with soaring oil
prices, Middle East unrest, national security concerns and disasters like the
BP Gulf disaster, we cannot afford to hit the snooze button again on our energy
independence.

“Today the Sierra Club joined the Center
for American Progress and the League of Conservation Voters in releasing a “Cleaner Cars, Less Foreign Oil” plan, calling for
President Obama and Congress to set firm targets for ending Big Oil’s
stranglehold on our economy.

To save Americans money
at the pump, we propose the following four-part plan:

Cut foreign oil use by 5
percent annually, and in half by 2022;

Build 21st
century cars that get 60 miles per gallon by 2025 and invest in smart
transportation choices like high speed rail;

End tax loopholes and
government handouts for Big Oil, and invest one cent per dollar of Big Oil profit
into ultra-clean vehicle research and development;

Stop speculators from
driving up oil prices.

“We join the President in his call for
American ingenuity and innovation and we share his vision for a safer,
healthier and more prosperous nation. However,
the Sierra Club is firmly opposed to the
misconception that coal or nuclear power can ever be clean.

“Instead of perpetuating
our dependence on dirty energy, we urge the President and Congress to take meaningful
action to move America into a clean energy economy.”